Railroad tie



Nov. 6, 1928.

T. DE LA MARE RAILROAD TIE Filed Nov. 5, 1925 Patented Nov. 6, 1928.

UNITED STATES THOMAS DE LAMARE, or sALri1 LAKE crrir,l UTAH.

RAILROAD TIE.

Al'lplicatonled November This invention relates to a cross tie forrailroad tracksl and the like, and its principal objectsare: ".1

First. To provide a tie which shall be 5 much more durable than the usualwooden tie,

though still-preserving the desirable characteristics of wood. i i Y Second. To make such. a tie with arportion to take the wear, the said portion being'easily and cheaply replaceable.

Third. ToV provide a cushioning member upon which the rail may be supported to pre- Vent kcrystallization of the metal ofthetie due to, pounding of wheels upon the rails.

Fourth. To make a tieV of the kind stated which shall have easily manipulated means for securing the rail rmlyupon the tie.

Fifth. To reducethe costjof maintaining railway tracks in good lcondition by means .of

a tie thatwill require attention atpvery long.

intervals-only.

Sixth. To produce a tie that, due to its simplicity, shall be adapted to quantity production and therefore to economical Vmanufacture. 5 j

The wooden ties usedin railroad and other tracks at the present time are unsatisfactory and expensive, due to their comparatively short life and the frequent need for new ties, with the labor consequent upon replacing them.

.Numerous attempts have been made to pro! duce a satisfactory tie of material more dur-l able than wood, but so far nonev of these have lack of resiliency in ties causing them toshake v out of the ballast.

The invention which forms the subiectof thevpresent application, hasfbeen'. .'made to overcome the diiiiculties experienced with the' variousy kinds of ties above mentioned. To

this end, it consists of a ,body member inthe formv of a channel preferably ofmetal, with'` resilient blocks'ther'ein to absorb vibration,

and. clamping means for securing the rails' come into extensive use.A Ties of concrete and of metal, and also of several combinations vof 3, 1925. serial No. 66,559.

to the ties, the clamping by means of wedges. In the drawing, which villustrates one embodiment of this invention:

stress being applied Fig. 1 represents a plan'with portions of' rails in place.

tion f i Figs. 3 and 4, cross sections taken respectively on lines 3 and 4 in Fig. 2, some parts in background omitted, and

Fig. 5, a fragmentary section taken on line 5 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2, longitudinalvertical center sec` Reierringto the drawing, the numeral 10 i of two separate parts, as indicated at 14? and 142. In the latter instance, the thinner part 142 isl placed directly under the rail and thus takes all the wear resulting from the slight movement and reaction of the rail due to the impacts oft the. vwheels of passing trains. When worn out, the blocks 142 may be easily and cheaply replacedwhile the blocks 141i remain permanently in place.

Papier mch is the ideal substance for the lrail-supporting blocks because it can be compounded to have just the right properties.

Itsv resiliency and insect-proof properties can be denitely controlled by means of proper ingredients, and it is substantially indestructible by the'natural elements under ordinary conditionsof use. Q A. i

The sides 11 and 12 of the'tie'bodyfare turned outwardlyimmediatelybeneaththerail to form outstanding flanges 15. There is thus *formed al clearance space between thebottom of thel rail and the flanges 1,5 of the tie, assuming that a rail-supporting block having a thickness equal tothe depth of the channel is used. When, after a long period of use, `the rail has de ressed the block sufficiently so that the rai rests on the flanges', a new block i may be put in the place of the old one, at much less expense for material and labor than would be required to replace an entire tie.

On the outer side of'each rail, a clamping member 16 having a slight resiliency, is used to in part secure the rail upon the tie. The said clamping member is in general of a Z-shape, one of the horizontal portionsY being longer than the other, and having an aperture for the passage of the bolt 17 which also pass. es through an opening 18 in the base 10 of the tie.

A wedge 19 is driven through suitably formed slots in the sides 11 and `12 of the tie.

. to bear upon bloc-lr 14. or 142, as the case This wedge maybe placed with its width inclined to the vertical, so that one edge engages the clamp 16 at the lower bend thereof, where the vertical portion joins that horizontal part that lies substantially in the bottom of the channel. Y

When the nut 2O on bolt 17 is screwed down tightly, the driving of the wedge pulls the gripping lug 34 of clamp 16 down firmly upon one flange of the rail and causes the latter p may be, bringing the rail and the respective block into intimate contact with each other. To prevent accidental withdrawal of the wedge, av cotter pin 30 may be inserted at the smaller end thereof. y

On'the inner sides of rails 13, a clamping member 21 which extends across the space between the two rails, and clamps both, may be used. This member is alsoprovided with gripping lugs 34, similar to the corresponding lugon Yclamp 16. The member 21 may have a considerable upward bulge formed therein. When wedges 32 are driven into place similarly to wedges 19, the completion of the clamping action upon the flanges of the rails is effected. It will be seen that the 'action of the wedges 32 is two-fold in that they pull the gripping lugs 34 down, andat the same time force the lower corners of member 21 against lthe blocks 14 and`141 thus preventing even a slight shifting of the latter. Above the bulgedV portion of member 21 may be placed a wedge 31 arranged to bear down upon ift, thus causing the extremities 35 of member 21 to spread, thereby assisting the action of wedges 32`along the longitudinaldil .lnension of the tie.

Bolts'2'? 'are provided for two purposes, one ofv whichfis to keepthe sides 11 and 12 of the ftie from spreading when the wedges `are driven into place, and the second is to form guards for preventing the vertical portions of the clamps 16 outwardly when the lugs 34 are drawn down upon the rails.

When these metal ties are to be used 011l bridges, viaducts, etc., they maybe provided with bolts 24, the heads thereofbeing placed under the blocks' 14 or 141, while the bolts may pass through the bridge or viaduct members and member 21 from springing (not shown) thus holding the ties securely in place. At present, plate steel is preferred as the material of Y which thesel ties are to be made. To keep the steel from rusting, the ties may be heated, and while hot be immersed in a bath yof hotfasp'haltuin or the like, and thus be provided with an effectual protective coating;

lTies made in accordance with this invention A'ared'esigned Vto be particularly useful in tropical and semi-tropical countries where ordinary wooden ties are often` subject to rapid destruction through the ravages of ants and other vermin. In the tie as shown and described herein, it will be noticed that only a ver-y small block surface, such as 4() in Fig. 4,i`s unprotected bya metal covering and the fact that this small surface is diiiicult of access and attack `by insects, renders the tie practically vermin proof even' though untreated wooden blocks should be used for the support Vvof the rails.

While a specific embodiment of this invention is herein `shown and described, it is to be clearly understood' that all the detailed parts thereof, may, `or may not, be shown in' the preferred forms, and further, that the preferred forms may be varied from time to time, as the "development yof this invention and the arts to which itappertains, progress. Therefore, that which forms an essentialand characteristic part of this invention will be readily discernible from the'claims in which its spirit is generalized.`

Having fully described my invention, I claim is:

, 1. A tie comprising a channel body member and wedge operated clamping means for securing rails thereto, said 'clamping means eX- tending continuously from inside of one rail to inside ofthe other rail,a'nd from each rail outwardly beyond said wedge. Y

2. A tie comprising a channel body member, resilient raily supporting members in said channel, clamping members having rail-gripping lugs spaced apart from said supporting members, and wedges operatively engaging Vthe said Vclamping members, said wedges acting to draw said lclamping members inwardly and downwardly.A Y

3. A tie Acomprising a channel' body mem ber, 'two-part resilient rail supportin means in saidbody, Vand wedgeoperated c amping means having gripping lugs for securing rails upon said resilientl supporting means, said clamping means extending continuously from inside of one rail to inside of the `other rail and from each rail outwardly, the said body'member and said clampingmeans serving together torform a substantially verminproofenclosureffor said supporting means.

4. In combination, a channel body member, rail clamping members `extending longitudinally of said body member, and wedges passwhat llO

width of said wedges being inclined to two principal dimensions of the body member, each wedge having one edge in engagement with a clamping member.

5. A channeled body member, two-part papier mch rail-supporting) members in said body, and gripping mem ers for securf continuously from inside of one rail to inside l0 of other rail and from eaoh rail outwardly.

In testimony whereof I sign my name here- THOMAS DE LA MARE. 

